Chapter 166 - 106: Public Opinion Explodes! Impromptu Spot Check

Convince his own mother, Sun Miaohua, to testify? Then, set aside time for Sun Miaohua to go to the police station and lawfully retrieve the case file for the disappearance of a three-year-old boy from twelve years ago!?

All of that...

In seven days?

Forget seven days, you probably couldn’t even do it in seventy!

As lawyers, they knew far better than most people just how long gathering evidence and investigating for a lawsuit takes.

It’s often measured in years, at a minimum!

Gathering evidence... since when is it measured in "days"?

And in only seven days at that! Forget finding evidence; a round-trip flight, including rest time, would take more than seven days!

I mean, even shipping a package on a 2,000-kilometer round trip would take a courier seven days.

Let alone gathering evidence...

This was simply unbelievable!

...

Yangzheng Law Firm.

A senior lawyer stared at the newspaper, an expression on his face as if he were looking at a monster. "Is this guy Superman? Seven days... and he even managed to leave three days for a DNA paternity test!"

"Doesn’t he get tired!?"

...

Jiamei Law Firm.

After seeing the newspaper, the firm’s director, a man in his fifties, shook his head again and again in admiration.

"’He forced the prosecutor to validate his evidence during the first trial... and prosecutors are naturally perceived as impartial...’"

"’What a brilliant move!’"

...

Lu De Law Firm.

Lawyer Zhong stared at the paper, his face a picture of disbelief.

"’Correcting the age? No, wait... he corrected the age and managed to dig up evidence from twelve years ago at the same time?’"

"’A case where the defendant was facing 15 years at most... he took it apart and rebuilt it...’"

"’...and turned it into one death sentence and two twenty-five-year sentences!?’"

...

Zhenghe Law Firm.

Several lawyers were looking at the newspaper, completely overwhelmed.

"’This is bad. Ever since Lawyer Zhang Wei got back to the firm, he won’t drink, he won’t eat... It’s like his soul has left his body. Does anyone know a folk remedy for anorexia!?’"

...

Inside Jinmao Law Firm.

As the only large, top-tier law firm in the entire city—certified by an authoritative body and employing nearly one hundred people—things were tense.

The firm’s director, Director Han.

At this moment, Director Han had locked himself in his office. He stared down at the newspaper, chain-smoking, his face completely devoid of expression.

Of course.

He appeared emotionless, but inwardly, he was in agony, as if a knife were twisting in his gut, full of bitter regret.

’A lawyer like that... slipped right through my fingers...’

’He should have been one of our own...’

’That case should have been Jinmao’s...’

’Gone. It’s all gone!’

Director Han clutched his chest as if he’d been stabbed. His eyes grew bloodshot, and he hissed through clenched teeth:

"Sun Hao... I’ll never be done with you!"

...

...

In 2003, a legal case significant enough to stir public opinion could have an enormous impact on a city’s social climate.

Especially a negative one!

Most people might not realize this. After all, no matter how terrible a case is, it’s confined to the few individuals involved. How could it possibly affect the morale of an entire city?

In reality... it can.

In fact, the impact was limited to just "one city" only because the internet wasn’t well-developed in 2003 and information spread too slowly!

If this had happened in the modern era, it would have had a negative social impact nationwide!

Take a few examples.

There was once a case where several drunk men harassed some women and, after being rejected, flew into a rage and assaulted them.

The public outcry became widespread!

But if you look at the case in isolation, it was just a typical, vicious, one-sided assault.

No one was even killed—two people sustained minor injuries, and two sustained light injuries. Judging by the severity and consequences alone, it wasn’t a huge incident.

But the public outcry and its impact spread across the entire country!

So.

A single legal case.

It truly is enough to change the social climate of a region. This isn’t a joke; it’s a fact!

But that being said...

If a negative case can change things... what about a positive one?

...

...

「January 8th.」

Lusen City, Municipal Bureau of Justice.

「Ten-thirty in the morning.」

Inside the Bureau of Justice, a dozen or so uniformed personnel were seated in a relatively spacious conference room.

"Alright, everyone’s here. Let’s start reading off the numbers."

The Director of the Bureau of Justice, Zhang Jianguo, sat at the head of the table. He scanned the conference room, nodded, and spoke.

Several deputy directors were by his side.

Among them, Deputy Director Yang Guotao was seated right next to him.

What were they doing?

Reading out numbers.

The satisfaction rating numbers!

The city was preparing for its Annual Conduct and Performance Review Conference. This could be thought of as a year-end assessment, scrutinizing each department’s performance over the past year, as well as the city residents’ satisfaction with them.

And before that...

Each department naturally had to review and submit its own data first.

The Bureau of Justice was currently compiling this data.

However, this so-called "data compilation" was also a smaller, internal bureau meeting, which would likewise be used to evaluate and rank the various departments.

If residents’ satisfaction with the judicial environment was poor, you’d be criticized.

If it was high, you’d be commended for excellence.

In previous years, whenever this time came around, the various local branches of the Lusen City Bureau of Justice would be filled with sighs and gloomy faces.

But now...

For the first evaluation of 2003, everyone was beaming with energy.

In the conference room.

Director Zhang Jianguo looked at his subordinates, all wearing confident smiles, shook his head, and spoke again:

"Read the numbers."

Upon hearing this, a staff member to the side nodded, picked up the data submitted by the various districts and counties, and began to report:

"Zhuangluo District. Total votes: one thousand three hundred and forty-seven. Dissatisfied votes... in total... a ninety-seven percent satisfaction rating."

Ninety-seven percent satisfaction?

Hearing this, Zhang Jianguo paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and glanced at the director of the Zhuangluo District Bureau of Justice.

Satisfaction ratings were always a bit inflated.

In truth, it was difficult for them not to be. The ballots were submitted by various neighborhood offices, and most people, just going through the motions, would check "satisfied" or "very satisfied."

But...

When every district’s numbers were inflated, it put everyone on a level playing field, and the inflation effectively canceled itself out.

As for a ninety-seven percent rating...

In past years, a score like that could have competed for first place in the entire municipal bureau!

And last year?

What was Zhuangluo District’s score last year? 93%!

A full 4% increase! It had gone from being middle-of-the-pack to a top contender. In the past, that score could have vied for the number one spot!

"Not bad, not bad..."

Zhang Jianguo nodded, offering a brief comment.

As he finished speaking.

The director of the Zhuangluo District bureau still wore a gentle smile, but it was now clearly radiant with pride.

"Continue," Zhang Jianguo said.

The staff member nodded, hesitated for a moment as he looked at the data, and then spoke again:

"Yangshan County. Total votes: one thousand and thirty-two. Satisfaction rating... a ninety-five percent satisfaction rating."

Yangshan County?

A 95% satisfaction rating!?

A hint of surprise appeared on Zhang Jianguo’s face. He glanced at someone on the side of the table.

It was reasonable for Zhuangluo District to have a high rating; the district was relatively well-developed and densely populated.

But Yangshan County... that was just a poor backwater. Its weak economy inevitably made residents dissatisfied and resentful toward the authorities. In the past, Yangshan County’s best score ever was only 89%, and it usually competed for last or second-to-last place in the city.

And now it had jumped a whole 6%!?

And yet.

This was only the beginning.

"Zhengwei District. The district’s Bureau of Justice collected a total of one thousand four hundred sixty-two votes. Thirty-seven ’dissatisfied’ votes. The ’satisfied’ and ’basically satisfied’ votes totaled 1,425, for a satisfaction rating of approximately 97.5%."

97.5%!?

Zhang Jianguo’s eyebrow twitched, his surprise growing.

Even higher than Zhuangluo District!?

The staffer continued:

"Linhe County... a satisfaction rating of 94.7%."

"Yansun County... a satisfaction rating of 96%."

"Nanshan District. The district’s Bureau of Justice collected a total of one thousand five hundred and twenty votes... Satisfaction rating..."

As he spoke.

The staff member blinked in astonishment, as if he’d misread the number. After confirming his eyes weren’t deceiving him, he finally announced:

"A satisfaction rating of 98.8%!"

A 98% satisfaction rating!?

It was almost 99%!

This time, a look of stunned disbelief crossed Zhang Jianguo’s face. His brow furrowed, and his eyes filled with suspicion.

Over fifteen hundred votes...

In previous years, they only received about twelve hundred votes. With that smaller sample size, their satisfaction rating consistently hovered around 95%.

Now, with over three hundred more votes, the rating was still 4% higher!?

’Manipulation? Ballot stuffing?’

Zhang Jianguo’s expression instantly grew stern. Those two possibilities flashed through his mind, and without a moment’s hesitation, he looked out at the bewildered faces in the room and declared:

"We’re conducting a spot check!"